Hold On

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

(Hebrews 10:35, NKJV)

One of the things I strongly admire in athletes is their ability to keep pushing forward even when they seem to be losing out.  The commitment and determination to reach the end is something that challenges many of us.  Clearly, it takes more than a casual desire to win a race, to keep running when others have already finished and one knows that they will not be counted among the winners.  The fact that they will not be rewarded for the win does not seem to discourage the runner, the commitment is to finish the race.  This is what we observe in the physical and I sense it is an attitude that we could learn from for our spiritual journey.  We might know of some who tried to do their best, held on in the battle but after a while they gave up on the walk of faith.  When this happens, it is seems all what one tried to achieve is lost.  As we work out our salvation day by day, the devil introduces into our minds the defeating thought that we will not make it, that we are far too gone for redemption.  Beloved, what we do with this thought is what determines whether we hold on faithfully or if we let go of our faith race.

We find our reference verse in the section of scriptures commonly titled ‘the just will live by faith’.  Apostle Paul in writing this passage explains the struggles and challenges that the believers had to gone through, mentioning that there is need for endurance.  The reason for the endurance is the reward expected, the assurance that it was and is not in vain that we hold on through the painful situations - we have a confidence that there is an eternal reward according to the promises of God (Verse 36).  The promised reward is what we keep our focus on and in so doing, we push through with hope.  The bible reminds us that hope is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1), the operative word is ‘substance’, it is tangible, it is not an emotion but an assured reward or outcome.  This is the confidence that we carry, the assurance of the outcome.  The journey could be difficult and yes, there are times when we have no more strength to go forward, but we dare not give up.  The storms of life will hit us and our boat could be battered, but beloved we have to come to the conviction that we are not giving up, we are not going back.  We must know and believe God’s word that He will jealously watch over us so that the sun will not smite us by day or the moon by night (Psalm 121:6) . All seasons and all situations that we go through are under His watch and nothing happening in our lives will catch our Father by surprise.  This is heart-warming as we trust in our Father’s care and love.  The 2006 song by The Hoppers: “I have come to far to look back again” comes to mind as a declaration of the conviction that we need to carry.  It does not mean that we deny the pain, the confusion, the struggles and all the negative experiences we face, but it says, in spite of it all, we choose to look ahead to the goal.  We quote Apostle Paul often that forgetting what is behind and focusing on the goal ahead, we push forward (Philippians 3:13-14).  Brethren, let us keep our eyes on the goal, not casting away our confidence despite and in spite of our current situations.  Our reward is assured by one who never fails. Amen.

Thoughts:

Where has your confidence waned?

How has the goal ahead influenced your walk of faith?

What memoirs of holding on do you carry for encouragement?